The theory that the Corona virus was leaked or even created in the laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) continues to resonate. The United States government in particular, takes it seriously and intelligence investigates it. Some scientists also think that the theory cannot be ruled out.
"It is not possible to say whether the final evolution (of COVID-19) occurred in the laboratory or occurred in nature," said Stanford professor and microbiologist David Relman.
The closest relatives of COVID-19 were discovered about a decade ago in a cave in southern China. David mentions the hypothesis of a leak from the lab as a possibility. In addition, the Wuhan laboratory kept many types of Corona virus from bats, including those found in caves.
"They're not just studying viruses. They're actually collecting the largest amount of samples from nature and the largest diversity from anywhere on Earth," he said.
On the other hand, Dr. Anthony Fauci as a medical advisor to the US president Joe Biden recently also stated that the theory of the Corona virus originating from a laboratory should be investigated. Although he truly believes that COVID-19 is formed naturally. "We always say keep an open mind and keep looking," he said.
The Chinese government itself is outraged by the theory and sees it as a distraction because it is politically motivated. Meanwhile, WIV has repeatedly denied the theory that the Corona virus originated in their laboratory, especially since there is no valid evidence so far. China seems to have the support of Western scientists.
A few days ago, Danielle Anderson, a foreign scientist who used to work at WIV, doubted that the Corona virus had leaked from the laboratory and that the disease might have originated in nature. Still, he admitted that he couldn't completely rule out the potential for leaks.
Anderson, who researches bat viruses, was in the Wuhan lab in November 2019 as the only foreign researcher, as the coronavirus neared a pandemic. Recently, the Wall Street Journal wrote a report that several researchers at WIV fell seriously ill in late 2019, raising suspicions that they were exposed to the Corona virus at the earliest.
But Anderson has his own opinion. "If a researcher gets sick, I assume I will get sick but I am not sick either. I was tested for Corona in Singapore before being vaccinated and never had the disease," he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
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